Weather in Greece in September
 

Thinking about a possible trip to Greece next Fall and trying to figure out when might be the best time weather-wise to visit. What's the weather like in Athens in September? We prefer avoiding really hot weather in Athens. If we wait until late September to fly into Athens and stay there for a few days, then take off for the Islands, will places be closed in the Islands (for example Crete, Santorini or Rhoades) in the first couple weeks in October? Thanks for your help!

for historical weather data, see
www.wunderground.com or
www.accuweather.com

The tourist infrastructure on the islands starts to close down in early October, but there will still be plenty to see and do on the islands you've mentioned since they're so popular. Late May-early June is my favorite time for the islands because the weather is a bit more predictably warm then.

We went for 17 days in September--1-17. We had 16 days of blue skies, incredible clear sunshine but not too hot, cooler evenings (about 65-69 F) and 1 day of rain. I recommend September highly--although even our guide said it would be hard to reproduce the weather we had this year. It was fabulous.

We went to Athens in mid-late October 2003 (I think we got there around the 20th) and stayed a couple of days before heading for the islands. We found some hotels closed down in the islands, but many were open. The later in October you get, the less there is available. I'd suggest making reservations in advance so they know you're coming and you'll know they're open.

Athens was hot and muggy for my tastes, but I'm sure it would have been worse earlier in the summer. I'd think September would be fine for traveling there. The worst part about Athens is the smog, which was the worst of all the cities we visited on a very busy itinerary that spanned from London to Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, and Athens, Izmir and Istanbul.

The weather gets a little dicey during the fall, and storms can delay the ferries. They do show up eventually, but some are so big they have to ride out the storms in harbors. All stuff to live through and tell stories about on Fodors later. :)

Happy travels,

Jules